At the Queen's Request
by Dodde
Summary: Despite the pair's rocky past, Marceline comes to Princess Bubblegum with an odd request. Eventual Bubbline maybe. Probably. Update coming soon.


Disclaimer: I own nothing of Adventure Time.

"Come on…Just a little more…"

Eyes level with the worktable in front of her, Princess Bubblegum carefully poured a vial of green, bubbly liquid drop by drop into a graduated cylinder filled with a gooey, clear substance.

Every summer, soaring temperatures caused multiple problems for the people of the Candy kingdom, especially amongst the chocolate and ice cream citizens. With temperatures easily climbing into triple digits before the clock struck noon, it was not an uncommon sight to see a member of the kingdom partially melted on the peanut brittle sidewalks. Times in which the people could go outside had been restricted to early mornings and evenings to prevent sun exposure as much as possible.

One poor soul never paid any mind to the curfews and as a result he had fallen prey to the intense heat more than once. Bubblegum tried everything in her power to formulate a way to save the young Candy citizen, but despite her best efforts there was no way to reverse the damage.

_Poor Cinnamon Bun has never been the same since…_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Milady?" On the other side of the graham cracker door came the voice of her loyal servant, Peppermint Butler. "The Banana Guards have informed me that you have a visitor at the palace gates who wishes to speak with you. Would you like for me to send her up?"

"Not today, Peppermint Butler. I'm far too busy for unscheduled meetings. Perhaps see if you can set up a meeting time when I have a free moment."

"Yes, Milady," the two-toned candy servant gave an unseen bow before turning from the door and heading back down the hall.

Bubblegum sat the vial she was holding on the tabletop and wiped her brow with the back of her hand, taking a moment to get herself back in the proper mind frame before continuing with her work. She had been toiling away on this particular project for months, waiting for just the right phase of the moon to go out and harvest specially grown grains for flour and stretching the taffy until it was at the perfect viscosity.

Finally, it was stable enough to where she could test it on a willing subject and there was no room for errors now.

_It will be ready just in time for summer, Glob willing._

She adjusted the thick glasses perched on her nose and grabbed up the test tube again, hunching back over the table.

"Okay, Bonnibel," she told herself. "Just a few more minor adjustments, and…"

"Hey, Miss Perfect!" came a chiding voice from overhead.

Startled by the call, Bubblegum jerked away from her project. Her elbow caught a rack near the edge of the table, sending it and the phials of chemicals and baking ingredients it held tumbling onto the tabletop.

"M-My work," the princess whimpered, watching helplessly as bits of broken glass, baking powder, and mixtures spread to the far corners of the table and down onto the floor. The concoction had to sit for a minimum of 72 hours in order for it to reach full potency and the princess had sat watching it diligently to be sure nothing went wrong. Three days of waiting, all for nothing. She plucked the drenched remains of her notes from the sticky mess, trying in vain to wipe the liquid from them but there was nothing she could do. The ink ran together in muddled splotches, darkening the pages to the point of complete and total illegibility.

Fists clenched in rage at the idea of having to start from the very beginning yet again, the princess whipped around to face the general area where the voice came from.

"What have you DONE?!" she screamed at the seemingly empty laboratory.

A black mist floated through the open window, followed by a haunting cackle.

Marceline, the vampire queen, in blue jeans, a gray tank top, and black boots appeared on the windowsill a second later with her bass in her lap. Adorning her usual apparel was a large, floppy sun hat and elbow-length gloves.

"No need for such hostility, Peebles," Marceline chuckled. The vampire leapt from the ledge and glided down to the table, plucking at the low E string of her bass. The low rumbling emitted caused the liquids in their beakers and test tubes to shake and a chill to travel down the pink monarch's spine. "This could have all been avoided if you had just told Peppermint dude to let me in. Much easier for both of us, yeah?"

Bubblegum's eyes narrowed menacingly. "What are you doing here?" she hissed through gritted teeth, her voice containing a surprising amount of venom for someone whose body mass was composed of 83.33% sugar.

The vampire did a somersault in the air and drifted closer to the princess.

"Before we discuss business, I wish to receive a proper greeting," she smirked. "And to think you call yourself a princess with manners like those."

Grumbling lowly to herself, Bubblegum gathered up an armful of vials and moved them to a cabinet beneath the table top, far away from the terror hovering above her. "If I asked for you to be sent away when you were at the palace gates, did you really think I would offer a warmer greeting when you decided to break into my lab and disrupt my work?"

Marceline shrugged nonchalantly and continued strumming her bass.

"I never expected you to welcome me with open arms regardless of which way I came in, but it doesn't hurt to try."

"Yet you continue to come here," the princess huffed, rolling her eyes. "Have you ever considered that I act so coldly because I wish to defer any and all visits from you?"

Marceline frowned and held a hand to her chest. "Now that hurt, Princess," she said with a pained expression. She dropped onto her boot-clad feet with a soft _thud_ and stood up straight, swinging her bass around on its strap to nestle it comfortably on her back. The gloves were removed and discarded on the stone floor followed by the sun hat, allowing the vampire's wild, black locks to swirl freely behind her while she walked. As she slowly approached the princess of Ooo, the atmosphere became noticeably cooler and more ominous with each step she took. Subconsciously, Bubblegum backed away from the approaching vampire until her back hit the chemistry table. This reaction brought a smug smirk to the dark queen's thin lips, baring her fangs.

"Relax, Peebs," Marceline chuckled, stopping an arm's length away from the princess. "I didn't come here to suck your blood. That sugary junk is way too sweet for my liking," she explained, running her forked tongue over her fangs and wrinkling her nose to prove her point. "It makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it."

Swallowing hard, the pinkette straightened up. "Then state what business brings you to my kingdom and please leave."

"I'm here because I need you to help me with something, something big, and I won't take 'no' for an answer."

The princess' brow creased in her growing frustration and she pinched the bridge of her nose with a thumb and forefinger.

"Just get to the point and leave, Marceline. I have matters of actual importance to attend to sometime today," Bubblegum sighed, her patience wearing more and more thin with each passing minute spent with the vampire.

Marceline's cocky attitude faltered at the princess' agitated response and she scratched the back of her head, her shoulders visibly slumping.

"I want to be human. I need you to bring me back to life."

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump.

Bubblegum's heartbeat was the only thing either woman could hear as the princess stared at the queen of the night before her, who was staring at the ground and shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot.

The younger monarch was the first to break the overbearing silence.

"_You_ want to be human? I thought you loved being a vampire?"

Marceline scoffed and tossed her dark hair out of her face.

"You learn to accept who you are when you're only other option is to die for good," Marceline murmured, never lifting her gaze from her boots.

"Why?" Bubblegum asked, moving to her desk. "Why after one thousand years do you decide you want to be human again?"

"The reason is mine alone to know. I just need to know if you're willing to help me with this," the vampire stated lowly. "I can pay any amount you may need plus some."

Exhaling heavily through her nose, Bubblegum leaned on the chemistry table and leaned on her elbows. She rested her chin in the palms of her hands and pressed her fingertips to her temples, arguing internally with herself.

_This would be taking science to a whole new level, but is it even possible to do it? I don't even know where I would start. What would I need to do? Eliminate the vampire virus? Construct an entirely new body?_

As the princess processed the possibilities and probabilities, Marceline shifted her weight back on forth between her feet. After a few moments, she spoke.

"Look, Marceline, I wish I could help you, really. But in all honesty, what you're asking of me is going against nature. It's impossi-"

Bubblegum gasped as she was hit by what felt like a train. Her back was slammed against the wall behind her and Marceline's cold, slender hands were latched onto her shoulders. The vampire loomed over her, a distressed, threatening fire dancing in her black eyes and her fangs bore, dangerously close to the princess' face.

"Don't you dare say that you can't, Princess, because you and I both know that you are perfectly capable of playing Glob," Marceline whispered vehemently, her breath washing over Bubblegum's lips and grip tightening with every passing second.

Bubblegum could see herself reflected in the vampire's dilated pupils. A look of terror was etched into her features, her face flushed.

Behind that, she saw turmoil and anguish hidden away deep inside Marceline. Emotions the vampire had tried to repress for centuries while they slowly eroded away at who she once was. She lifted a hand and laid it on the other woman's forearm. "Marcy…" she whispered hoarsely, feebly trying to shake the grasp the vampire had on her.

The fire was extinguished almost as quickly as it had been kindled and Marceline ripped her hands from the other woman's shoulders.

"I'm sorry," she spouted quickly, panicked, taking two large steps backward and looking sheepish. She couldn't remember the last time lost control of herself like that.

Bubblegum cleared her throat as she sidestepped along the wall until she was on the other side of her chemistry table, wanting to put as much space between herself and the dark-haired woman as possible. The vampire watched as the pinkette fumbled with clumsy fingers to undo the buttons of her lab coat. She winced as if she had been struck and slinked further back.

"I would like you to leave now, Marceline," the princess said coolly, refusing to look at her. She took off her glasses and slipped them into her coat pocket before hanging it up on a hook behind the lab door. "I trust you can see yourself out."

She would get no more work done today.

The dark-haired woman opened her mouth to protest but a stern look from the young monarch in front of her caused her to snap it shut.

"Leave."

It was not a request that time, but a command. Marceline gritted her teeth and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry," she murmured again under her breath, allowing her thick hair to fall to hide her face. She snatched her hat and gloves up off the tile floor and pulled them on hastily. Flying up to the window, she gave one last look over her shoulder at Bonnibel Bubblegum, who just turned off the lights and left the room without looking back.

Author's Note: So, this is the first thing I've ever written. If you would be so kind to leave a review to let me know what you think or to give me a tip or two it would be much appreciated.


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